


to tell this tale, already told

by silversilky



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game), Dark Souls (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark Souls (Video Game) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Sayo of the Abyss, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29201916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversilky/pseuds/silversilky
Summary: Excerpts taken from a manuscript discovered in the Duke's Archives on the history of the lost art of Abysswalking, author and time of writing unknown.
Relationships: Hikawa Hina & Hikawa Sayo, Hikawa Sayo & Shirasagi Chisato, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 27





	to tell this tale, already told

_The art of Abysswalking was one first practiced by an individual under the employ of Lord Gwyn, one of his four knights during the divine age of Lordran, when the flame still burned bright and long. Hikawa was her name; a name that echoes through history clearly to this day, the warrior who conquered the looming threat of primeval man and brought untold glory to Gwyn and Anor Londo though countless battles._

_Unfortunately, unlike her legend, Abysswalking as a practice would not survive the ages intact, and to this day the exact techniques she used are murky and unknown to us. Attempting to traverse the Abyss without perfect mastery of these techniques is not recommended._

_(Curiously, some writings seem to suggest that there were, in fact, two Abysswalkers. This is believed to be a mistranslation.)_

* * *

There's an almost imperceptible tell when she approaches. Silent footsteps against the stone floor of the balcony give little warning, but there's something about the air when Chisato is around that lets Sayo know to rouse herself from her thoughts, roll her shoulders back and take a breath. Chainmail scrapes against metal. She's glad she didn't have a chance to remove her armor, cumbersome and unnecessary as it may be it still helps to put her somewhat at ease around Gwyn's assassin.

Chisato doesn't announce herself, never does, perhaps simply out of habit. Instead she settles in beside Sayo and turns her cool gaze over the golden city that stretches out beneath them. "You fared well in the last excursion, I take it."

It's less a question than a statement of fact but Sayo answers it anyway, slowly rubbing the back of her neck with a gauntlet-clad hand. "Quite. But it was only a minor demon, it didn't take much to make it turn tail and return to Izalith." She knows this preamble hardly matters but she'll play her part in it regardless of what comes next.

" _Only a minor demon_ ," Chisato replies under her breath with a hint of a chuckle. "You're modest to a fault, Sayo."

A rush of frustration. "...Shirasagi, if you come seeking my sister—"

"I do not."

"—you won't find her here." Sayo bites her tongue and bites back the bile rising in her throat along with it. "Ah. Then I take it you haven't been dispatched yet?"

The assassin's gaze flicks to meet her eyes. "I confess, I know not what you speak of."

"She has left Anor Londo."

"Oh?" Chisato doesn't sound surprised, but Sayo notes the slight change in her tone. "Where is Hina gallivanting off to now? Off to contend with some far-off challenger again, or is this a mission on Lord Gwyn's orders?"

"Neither."

A pause. "...So this is a betrayal, then?"

"I have not the slightest idea why that thrice-damned fool chose to throw away her oath, but yes. An outright betrayal. She was meant to journey to New Londo three nights ago but not a soul here or there has seen her since." Sayo clenches her fist tight enough that the hard edges of her gauntlet bite deep into the callused skin underneath. "They found her covenant tossed on the tiles outside Gwynevere's chambers. Such an action is tantamount to blasphemy. And a young Fire Keeper went missing on the very same day, they suspect that was her work as well."

"A girl named Maruyama?" It's hardly a question, more a confirmation of what Chisato must already know to be true. Sayo nods.

"Indeed."

Chisato doesn't reply for a long moment. Her hand strays down to the small sheath on her hip, the tips of her fingers brushing up against the blade's handle. "I suppose it is surprising that I haven't been called in yet, in that case."

"Perhaps they've taken into consideration your relationship with my sister. That you may still have hope for her."

Violet eyes sharpen to a razor's edge. "I put no stock in hope. And, pray tell, what sort of relationship is that meant to be? I confess I have no idea what you are implying."

"Do not play coy, Shirasagi."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Hikawa."

The wind rushes across tall spires and arched rooftops to reach them on the balcony, stiff and cold enough to chill Sayo to her bones—the price of living at the world's peak, she supposes. She reaches across to grip her upper arm tightly, grounding herself. Far, far below, many stalwart guards stand firm against the brunt of the encroaching numbness, sentinels of the fading flame. Useless as their efforts may be in truth, she cannot help but feel a kinship with them. Neither Sayo nor her fellow knights can do anything but their duty.

"I am to be dispatched to Oolacile Township," she says without thought, barely noticing that the words are slipping out through her lips. "The Abyss is growing by the day there, I'm sure you've heard of the danger; and I am now the only Abysswalker on hand. I am expected to halt its expansion by any means necessary."

Chisato's eyes widen, just enough for her to notice. "With how many men? Will Hawkeye Yamato or the Dragonslayer Rei be accompanying you?"

"This is my task."

White knuckles. Chisato grips the railing hard enough that Sayo half expects it to bend and snap. "The king is sending you alone. One knight against a threat like that? Did this order come before or after that idiot took her leave—"

"Shirasagi." Sayo's heartbeat is steady. "Please. Do not speak ill of Lord Gwyn."

Let it never be said that the Lord's Blade Chisato Shirasagi is anything less than a master of self-control, for the sliver of rage bared to Sayo is quickly subdued in favor of a subtler reaction, a particular stilted way of moving as she lifts her hand to her mouth and closes her eyes for a brief moment. When she lowers it back down, her demeanor is calm and deliberate once again. "When are you to depart?"

"At the break of dawn."

"So soon... I see." Chisato holds her gaze for a long stretch of silence. "Take Leon."

"The greatwolf?" Sayo asks as she raises an eyebrow. "I've already told you that my orders are to complete this task alone. And beyond that, your wolf is not mine to take."

"But he is mine to give. And he's long since taken a liking to you, he'll protect you tirelessly for as long as it takes." Chisato steps forward towards the door but pauses beside Sayo; resting a slender hand on her shoulder. She can't feel its weight through the armor. "Please do not think that your sister is the only Hikawa that I count as a valuable companion, Sayo. If I cannot hope for you, I can at least do this."

Sayo opens her mouth to reply—to say what?—but long before she finds the words Chisato is gone, as if she were never there at all.

A strange emotion fills her chest, something nameless and unknowable but familiar all the same; and she turns her eyes to the sky above Anor Londo to drink in the last rays of the sun as it continues on its path towards the horizon. Sayo lifts a hand to shade her eyes as she watches clouds drift along, formless. A wry smile tugs at the edges of her tired eyes as she speaks the truth hidden in her heart.

"Sister... wherever you are, live well."

But there is no running for the elder Hikawa. The darkness calls for her, and if the king commands her to answer then she will, without pause. She will walk the Abyss even if it is her last time, carrying with her no regrets and nothing to burden her soul.

* * *

_The grave of the Abysswalker Hikawa lies deep within the expanse of the treacherous Darkroot Garden underneath a local parish, beyond where most mortal men would ever dare to tread, in an ancient graveyard left for a lost and long forgotten township. It is one among many graves with little to suggest a hero among heroes lies buried underneath—nothing, that is, save for her greatsword buried before it; the true monument._

_(Some legends suggest that a great golden wolf prowls the region to this day, loyally protecting her grave through the ages. This is commonly believed to be nothing but a myth.)_


End file.
